Ever thought of creating a Family Book Club? It’s a great activity for the whole family - and you would be amazed at how you can bring food into it!

As I embarked on this culinary adventure with Let’s Dish!, I had no idea where it would take me. I have spent many hours thinking about food in all different ways, not just in new and exciting flavors but also in how food touches us in our lives and how we can make it a lifetime adventure for ourselves and our children.

One thing you should know about me is that I love to read. I read everything - including cookbooks as novels. I came across a great family activity which included reading (something I am trying to always impress upon my children). Simple it is, have a family book club or just once a week, take turns reading a book out loud at the dinner table so that as a family you can discuss it.

I loved this idea but it inspired me to think about food and books….in my world, it all goes back to food. So I did a little thinking and searching and realized that some of my favorite books from my childhood (and those I have read with my kids) all talk about food, and not macaroni and cheese but different things and adventuresome ideas.

So here you are - a list of some of my childhood favorites and how you can use them to try new adventures at the dinner table and beyond!

From the Mixed of Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg - A brother and sister are living in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and must find ways to feed themselves at the Automat and other inexpensive places in New York City. This book not only lends itself to the basic question for your kids of “What would you do for food?”. See what they can come up with at the grocery store if they only had $4.00. Is it healthy? Also, take a trip to your local museum and explore it as if you had to sleep there….are there any beds? Where would you take a bath?

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McClosky - Ok, anything with blueberries works for this book. Blueberries are a terrific antioxidant and our Blueberry Buckle is a favorite with my children. Blueberries aren’t just for pies and sweets. They are great in sauces for chicken and other proteins.

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - The tea party is classic and do you know when sandwiches are cut into fun shapes and sizes, kids will try just about anything. I found I was able to get my kids to give up eating white bread by just cutting the crusts from the whole wheat or multi-grain bread off and sometimes cutting them into creative shapes. I would only give the white bread in the “boring” way, and they soon were begging me for wheat.

Stone Soup by Jon Muth - A great classic story of making soup from stones. Talk about the perfect lesson for all kids to be inspired to make something that is out of the ordinary. Of course, eating it only with a little adult supervision but create your own edible “stone” soup.

Pumpernickel Tickle and Mean Green Cheese by Nancy Patz - A fabulous tale of a boy who forgets what he needs when he gets to the grocery store. My son loved this book some much, we would have pumpernickel sandwiches with “mean cheese” (tested out several different types of cheese on him using this story). Pickles became a favorite with him too because of this tale.

Jimmy Zangwow’s Out-Of-This-World Moon-Pie Adventure by Tony DiTerlizzi - An amazing journey that a boy takes to get some moon pies. Don’t know what a moon pie is, check back to Food for Thought this weekend, and we’ll post a fun moonpie recipe for you!

And of course the classic Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss - We all love this one and how easy is it to make some “Green Eggs” and fry up either some ham or bacon (or turkey bacon in our house). What are “green eggs” - scramble up some eggs with a little spinach in them, chopped broccoli - be creative.